Have any good suggestions for ways to keep white-tailed deer out of my garden? They seem to think the commercial deer repellent I bought from my local garden center is just a zesty salad dressing.
In the Florida summertime, I mainly just try to keep the grass of my yard cut (and this year a neighbor’s grass too).
My oleanders have been viciously attacked by caterpillars.
I have some bromeliads that are blooming. The crepe myrtles are in full bloom.
I got back three weeks ago from San Diego and Tijuana. The geraniums there can grow into four-foot-tall plants that live for many years.
Earlier this year the college-age son of my Polish neighbors had good luck growing tomatoes and cucumbers under netting.
Peppers grow well in the summertime here in Florida.
Oleanders will root in water.
Bought plants have become very expensive.
One of my dwarf poinciana trees is in bloom. It has orange flowers.
We are heading into our hot season in SoCal and it's all about maintenance now - no planting, transplanting - nothing until fall.
Meanwhile:
Got these gladiola bulbs from a friend who was tossing them:
Plumeria are starting to bud and bloom.
Vinca, lantana and bougainvillea are some of the few plants that can take our high temps and hot winds:
Happy, Happy 4th to all!!
Gotta do a bunch of running around and spend a bunch of money to get vehicles renewed. Proof of Personal Property tax being paid up is required to renew registrations. I call it the buy your stuff again tax. Insurance, inspection stickers, registrations. Stickers and insurance might have to do for a couple more weeks. I'm sick of seeing my whole paycheck go in two days.
Went to tractorsupply.com and evidently they have a new store closer to me. That could be dangerous, speaking of money.
A 330' roll of 48" goat fence is up to $400 now. Would fence in the tunnel with enough room for outdoor rows(tater time) and a few fruit trees.
Got my post set in concrete for the rain bucket. Got a piece of marine grade plywood to cut a circle from to mount on top of post to screw bucket to.
Rain gauge requires a Digital Input and I only have two controllers with that and one is that big controller which I'll need out there eventually anyway. The other one is up here at the house and staying here. Looked at big electrical enclosures and it's either $100 for china junk or $400+ for brand name.
Little antique fridge is getting moved to the tunnel in the next couple of days to house automation stuff, tools and supplies. I'll rig a piece of metal roofing over it for now until I get some universal fridge gasket for it. Will shade it too.
Gotta start thinking about how I'm going to frame in the tunnel end walls and what kind of doors I want. I've seen 36" entry doors up to full width roll up and everything in between. Sliding doors are popular but limit you to half the width of the tunnel.
I also want a lean to shed on the NW end so that has to be taken into consideration.
Commercial roll up door 
Not so commercial version 
Now that I look at those and thinking of my frame, same deal. Full width would be too short and sliding doors would be less than half the tunnel width.
Anyway, 10am and still in the 70s so I'm going to wonder and ponder and move that fridge shell. See if that new batch of direct sow seeds germinated yet in cooler soil temps.
July... Will we cook or will we float? (Chances of being blown away are reduced but not zero.) ;-)
We'll likely travel to Paducah for the fireworks @ the Riverfront. Maybe we can get there early and have a picnic supper, maybe toss this goodie around a bit in an open area once most people have headed for their cars.
Might as well do that and wait for traffic to clear out: In times past when we've watched the J4 fireworks there (Paducah), the traffic afterward is a doozy. And, this is on a Friday night!
The armbands may have some emergency uses too: They supposedly have up to 20 hours of armband light, and they have 3 lighting modes: Rapid flashing, steady flashing, and constant. Yep. Another Menards deal...
Hi All! Greetings from southern New Hampshire!
Barb ordered a pair of the large, 15” tall Birdee Beds from Epic. These were to replace two of our first wooden one that I made from pallet wood. Despite an oil finish and lining of plastic, they had deteriorated.
So far, I have replaced one and have the second bed emptied and am laying down hardware coth and landscape fabric. It is labor-intensive as while emptying the bed, I am separating out the weed roots, mostly quackgrass. Worth the effort.
The one that is filled is really impressive. We plan to replace the wooden raised beds as Epic offers discounts. At 78, the bull work is good for me, but I don’t have the stamina I used to have.
The new raised bed where the bee hives used to rest is planted with cucumbers, bush and climing and one red cabbage.
Speaking of bees, the swarm trap on our back deck was occupied a couple of days ago. Hopefully they will take up residence.
Back to squash vine borers: Apparently, on occasion the borer larvae can be located and either the vine stem carefully cut in to in the direction of the vine, to kill the borer, or the larvae can be punctured with a needle or Exacto knife, the latter again oriented “with” the vine. But, how to locate the larvae?
This might be worthwhile when just a few plants are involved, esp. a particularly valuable plant like my last Opo.
ALWAYS jealous of your Plumeria. That scent! Yum!
Your Holiday decor is fun, as always. :)
Among other things, July is National Bison Month. And that’s no bull!
;-)
Word of the day here : Weeds.
The good rain we had recently has made the weeds grow like crazy.
🌱🌱🌱
I have some of my stratified catnip seeds sowed in a re-used 6-pack with brand new seed starter soil. 1/8” depth.
Looking around online, I see the recommendations for best soil temperature for germination at 60-70 deg. F. Some other online sources say 70-80 deg. F. I’ll have to monitor, but, IIRC my basement will average around 70 deg. F this time of year. Hopefully, that will be about right?
Good morning Diana and everyone else.
I get to hang out here for a bit. Originally scheduled to go to my granddaughters today, but my son is in a lot of pain with his back and legs.
Yesterday with a hand mower he mowed almost 2 acres of land. Here it was very hot, and he has bad knees and the back to begin with. Could he pace himself? Of course, not
so instead of sucking up my granddaughters Wi-Fi I’m out here on the deck and will check out the posts and chat for a while.